Princetonian objects to Dr. Oz’s appearance

He’s a very popular, influential figure. Unfortunately, he’s also a charlatan, and CPS should be distancing itself from him — not lending its name to his appearance.

Oz is as qualified to comment on mental health as I am to comment on high fashion, and not just because he has no formal training in psychology or psychiatry. His dossier is so thick that it could fill several columns, so I’ll defer to the James Randi Educational Foundation, an organization devoted to debunking junk science: “Dr. Oz is a Harvard-educated cardiac physician who, through his syndicated TV show, has promoted faith healing, ‘energy medicine’ and other quack theories that have no scientific basis,” the group notes on its website.

Credit: @jref on Twitter

The reason I post this is, once again, it is an example of colleges and universities allowing non-science or nonsense to appear legitimate by allowing its purveyors to share the same space as those with established knowledge. (This is especially prevalent with non-credit courses that endorse psychic powers, ghost hunting and alternative treatments.) When questioned, their responses are always lame. Regardless, it serves as a tacit endorsement because the public ASSUMES it is endorsed by the institution.